False Priest
False priests roam the lands spreading word of the power of their god, and using that power to convince the unfaithful of their misplaced loyalties in other gods and governments. The false priest judges all he sees, meting out harsh justice in the name of his deity. A devotee who wishes to become a false priest must undergo a ritual, blessing the priest and judging his purity. Those who are found worthy emerge from this process as absolute believers, while those deemed inadequate are never seen again. A new False Priest finds himself on a quick path to power, prestige, and wealth, as the hierarchy of the church treats most priests as superiors. Indeed, many False Priests find themselves quickly rising in rank to become possessors of even greater power in short order. Class Details Hit Dice: d8. Requirements To qualify to become a False Priest, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria. * Alignment: Any nongood. * Feat: False Casting. * Skills: Bluff 5 ranks, Use Magic Device 5 ranks. * Spells: Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells. * Special: Must undergo a special ritual whereby the character's faith in his god is tested. Class Skills The False Priest's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha). Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier. Table: False Priest Class Features All the following are class features of the False Priest prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A False Priest gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies. Domain A False Priest may select one of the following domains: Charm, Evil, Law, or Trickery. A False Priest gains the granted powers of that domain, using his arcane spellcaster level as his cleric level and his Intelligence or Charismamodifier (whichever is higher) in place of his Wisdom modifier. He does not gain any domain spells from this domain. At 5th level, a False Priest may select a second domain from those listed above and may use the granted powers of that domain as well. First Ritual (Su) At 1st level, a False Priest adds both bless and cure light wounds to one of his arcane spell lists, but treats them as if they were 2nd-level spells. If he is a spontaneous caster, they are also added to his list of spells known. Whenever he casts cure light wounds using this ability, the hit points healed are instead treated as temporary hit points that last 10 minutes per False Priest level, although the subject of the spell does not notice this difference until the duration expires. Temporary hit points from this (and any subsequent cure spells) do not stack. In addition, whenever a False Priest uses False Casting to cast a 0- or 1st-level spell on the cleric spell list, he receives a +10 circumstance bonus on any opposed Bluff check made when casting the spell. False Channel (Su) Starting at 2nd level, a False Priest can channel positive energy to heal living creatures like a cleric, healing 1d6 points of damage, plus 1d6 points of damage for every two False Priest levels after 2nd. He can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Intelligence or Charisma modifier (whichever is higher). The hit pointshealed by this ability are treated as temporary hit points, and last for 10 minutes per False Priest level. These hit points do not stack with themselves (although they do stack with those from cure light wounds cast using the first ritual class feature). This ability does not count for the purposes of meeting any prerequisites that call for the ability to channel energy. This ability cannot be used to harm undead creatures. Master of Lies (Ex) At 3rd level, a False Priest adds his class level to any Bluff check made as part of a lie or deception. In addition, whenever he is subject to a spell or special ability that can discern whether or not he is telling the truth, he is automatically aware of such magic. He is not immune to such spells or abilities, but he can choose to remain silent or avoid answering questions. Second Ritual (Su) At 5th level, a False Priest adds cure moderate wounds and spiritual weapon to one of his arcane spell lists, but treats them as if they were 3rd-level spells. If he is a spontaneous caster, they are also added to his list of spells known. As with the first ritual, any hit points gained from cure moderate wounds are temporary hit points. Finally, whenever a False Priest uses False Casting to cast a 2nd- or 3rd-level spell on the cleric spell list, he receives a +10 circumstance bonus on any opposed Bluff check made when casting the spell. Conversion (Su) At 7th level, whenever a False Priest heals himself using false channel, the effect heals damage, instead of granting temporary hit points. This has no effect on others in the area of effect. Third Ritual (Su) At 9th level, a False Priest adds cure serious wounds and prayer to one of his arcane spell lists, but treats them as if they were 4th-level spells. If he is a spontaneous caster, they are also added to his list of spells known. As with the first ritual, any hit points gained from cure serious wounds are temporary hit points. Finally, whenever a False Priest uses False Casting to cast a 4th- or 5th-level spell on the cleric spell list, he receives a +10 circumstance bonus on any opposed Bluff check made when casting the spell. True Pretender (Su) At 10th level, a False Priest attains true power. Whenever he uses false channel, he can spend two uses of that ability to heal damage to all living creatures in the area, instead of granting temporary hit points. In addition, when determining what spell trigger and spell completion magic items he can use, he acts as though all cleric spells were on his spell list. This makes it so that he does not need to make a Use Magic Device skill check when using such items, but he must still make Bluff skill checks when using False Casting with such spells. OGL Section 15 -- Copyright Notice Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Matt Goodall, and Jason Nelson. Category:Prestige Classes Category:Prestige Classes from Paths of Prestige